Physical Characteristics. Jefferson County is in north Florida and is bordered by Georgia and the Gulf of Mexico and by Taylor, Leon, Wakulla, and Madison counties. The county has 609.27 square miles of land and 3.80 square miles of water for a total of 613.07 square miles. The average January temperature is 53.5 degrees Fahrenheit, and the average August temperature is 80.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The average annual rainfall is 57.74 inches.
History. Jefferson County was established in 1827 from Escambia County and named for Thomas Jefferson, U.S President, who died in 1826. Before the Civil War, Jefferson County developed into a plantation agriculture society. Many houses from that era remain in Monticello, the county seat.
